Lock



Oct. 8, 1 I E. N. JACOB! LOCK Filed March 30, 19M) I6 l9 l6 EUWJPUMJJMMmgw Patented Get. 8, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOCK Edward N.Jacobi, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to 5.1 Briggs & Stratton Corporation,Milwaukee,

Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application March 30, 1940, Serial No.327,042

7 Claims.

This invention relates to locks, and refers particularly to cylinderlocks of the type used in automobile door and deck handles.

It is now common practice to mount cylinder locks in the stems ofautomobile door handles. It is also customary to die-cast the handles aswell as the lock cylinders; and while this method of manufacture isquite accurate, dimensional .discrepancies are inevitable.

proper freedom of operation for the cylinder, substantial clearance mustbe provided between the cylinder and the walls of the bore in which itis mounted.

These irregularities often result in the lock cyl- 15 -inder head lyingagainst one side of the bore or hole in which it is received and leavinga rather wide crack at the opposite side into which water fiows tofreeze in winter and cause corrosion in other seasons. This difficultyis particularly prevalent when the lock is mounted in the deck handle ofan automobile where it is more apt to catch rain and wash water.

While so-called dust covers have been used to guard against the entranceof dirt and foreign matter into the keyhole of the lock and some timesextend beyond the edge of the cylinder for the purpose of excludingextraneous matter from the space between the cylinder and its bore,these past constructions could not be made with sumd -ciently closefitting parts to actually insure against the entrance of water into thespace between the cylinder and its bore.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a lockhaving means incor- 5 porated therein specifically designed for andcapable of sealing the mouth of the cylinder bore against the entry ofwater.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a sealat the mouth of the bore *in which the cylinder is mounted which, byvirtue of its novel construction; accommodates the slight irregularitiesincident to diecast' production and at all times insures a close fitbetween the relatively movable parts to prevent the entry of water andother foreign matter into the clearance space between the cylinder andbore walls.

Another object of this invention is to provide a seal of the characterdescribed which is maintained by means of a spring mounted within the 1structure of the lock itself.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly Thus, to insure defined by the appendedclaims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodimentof the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope ofthe claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the practical application of the principlesthereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinalsection through an automobile door handle equipped with a lockconstructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a detail view at right angles to Figure 1 with part thereofbroken away and in secf5 tion; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the sealing member per se.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawing, in which likenumerals indicate like all parts, the numeral 5 designates the handle ofan automobile door or deck which in conformance with general practice isa die-casting formed with a bore 6 and provided with a tubular extensionsecured in its inner end. At the mouth i5 of the bore 6 is a counterbore8, and the extension 1 has a transverse bore 9 therethrough.

Mounted in the bore of the handle is a'lock cylinder in of conventionalconstruction having tumblers ll projectable into longitudinal tumbler 36receiving grooves l2 opening to the bore. The tumblers are retractablewithin the confines of the cylinder upon the insertion. of a'proper key'against rotation. Cylinder rotation is translated into reciprocation ofthe bolt l3 through a crank pin l4 projecting eccentrically from theinner end of a stem l5 carreid by the cylinder.

As stated, the handle 5 is generally a diecasting. The lock cylinder isalso generally a diecasting, but the extension [5 is of stronger metal.{5 cast into the inner end of the-cylinder. j-

Although the diecasting method of production provides fair accuracy,dimensional discrepancies are inevitable and consequently substantial"clear-' ance must be provided between the'cylinderwalls 55* and thewalls of the bore. This clearance should be closed against the ingressof water and dirt.

To this end, a sealing ring it is secured in the counterbore 8. Thissealing ring has a cylindrical wall I! adapted toh'avea press fit: inthe 563 counterbore and an annular inwardly directed flan e l8 whichoverlies the outer rounded face of an enlarged head is on the outer endof the cylinder.

Firm engagement between the undersurface of the flange l8 and the outerrounded face of the cylinder head is assured and maintained by acompression spring 20 coiled about the cylinder extension 15 andconfined between the inner end of the cylinder and a shoulder 2| servingas a bottom for the bore and provided in this instance by the inner endof the tubular extension 1.

The spring 20 yieldingly urges the lock cylinder outwardly and thusholds the outer end thereof firmly against the underside of the flangeI8.

To insure as complete a seal as'possible, the inturned annular flange I8is reduced in thickness toward its inner periphery to give the same afeather-edged formation of suflicient resiliency to hug the outersurface of the cylinder head regardless of any slight irregularitieswhich this surface might have.

The sealing ring, as stated, is secured in place bybeing pressed intothe counterbore. Further assurance against displacement, is obtained byhaving the cylindrical flange of the ring received in an arcuate slot 22which cuts through a boss 23 formed in the counterbore to coact with theopposite ends of an ,arcuate inward extension 24 on the undersurface ofthe cylinder head to define the limits of rotation of the cylinder.

.In assembling the lock, it is obvious that the cylinder must beinsertedin the bore before the sealing ring is pressed in place. After the ringhas been secured in the counterbore, it acts to hold the cylinder in thebore; but inasmuch as the sealing ring of itself does not provideagainst forcible withdrawal of the cylinder as in an attempt to defeatthe lock, additional cylinder retaining means is provided. This cylinderretaining means consists of across pin 25 secured in the tubularextension 1 and received in an annular groove 26 in the adjacent portionof the cylinder extension 15.

The groove 26 is considerably wider than the diameter of the crosspinand these parts are so related that the pin is normally spaced from thesides of the groove to thus insure the maintenance of the desired snugengagement between thecylinder head and the undersurface of the flangel8.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, it will be readily apparent that this invention provides meansfor effectively sealing the clearance between the cylinder and its boreagainst the entry of water and dirt which means, in conjunction with theusual keyhole cover, as in Patent No. 1,965,942, issued toEdward N.Jacobi, July 10, 1934, affords maximum protection for the internalstructure of the lock against the corrosive effects of the elements.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a look: a bored lock case; a lock cylinder in the bore; an annularflange at the mouth of the bore overlying the outer end of the cylinder;and a spring yieldingly urging the lock cylinder outwardly to hold itsouter end firmly in engagement with the underside of said flange.

2. In a look: a member having a bore; a lock cylinder mounted within thebore; a head on the lock cylinder positioned at the mouth of the bore anannular flange at the mouth of the bore carried by said bored member andoverlying the head of the cylinder; and a spring urging the lockcylinder outwardly to maintain the outer face of its head firmly inengagement with the undersurface of the flange.

3. In a look: a member having a bore and a counterbore at the mouth ofsaid bore; a lock cylinder disposed in said bore with its outer end inthe counterbore; a ring secured in the counterbore; an inwardly directedannular flange on the ring extending over the outer end of the lockcylinder; and means yieldingly urging the lock cylinder outwardly ofsaid bore to hold its outer end in firm engagement with the undersurfaceof said annular flange.

4. In a lock: a cylinder supporting member having a bore; a lockcylinder in the bore with the outer end thereof adjacent to the mouth ofthe bore; two independent means for holding the lock cylinder againstwithdrawal from the bore, one of said means comprising an annularinwardly directed flange carried by said supporting member at the mouthof the bore and overlying the outer end of the cylinder, the other ofsaid means'having a degree of lost motion in a direction axial to thecylinder so that the first of said designated means is normallyprimarily effective; and spring means urging the cylinder outwardly tohold the outer end thereof firmly against the underside of the annularflange.

5. In a cylinder lock of the type adapted for use on automobile door anddeck handles where protection should be provided against the ingress ofwater into the bore in which the cylinder operates: a cylindersupporting. member having a bore, the mouth of which is open; a lockcylinder mounted in the bore with its outer end adjacent to the mouththereof; an inwardly directed annular flange carried by said boredmember at the mouth of the bore and overlying the outer end of thecylinder; and spring means yieldingly urging the cylinder outwardly tohold the outer end of the cylinder firmly against the undersurface ofthe annular flange and thereby preclude the entrance of water and otherforeign matter into the clearance between the cylinder and bore walls.

6. In a lock, the combination of: a cylinder supporting member having abore and a counterbore atthe mouth of the bore; a lock cylinder in thebore; an enlarged head on the outer end of the cylinder disposed in thecounterbore, said enlarged head having a smooth rounded outer surface;an annular insert secured in the counterbore and having a flangeoverlying the rounded outer surface of the cylinder head; and springmeans yieldingly urging the cylinder outwardly to maintain firmengagement between the cylinder head and said flange.

'7. In a lock of the character described, the combination of: a memberhaving a bore and a counterbore at the mouth of the bore; a cyliiidermounted in the bore; a spring yieldingly urging the cylinder outwardlyof the bore; and a retaining ring secured in the counterbore and havingan inwardly directed annular thin-edged flange overlying the outer endof the cylinder to engage the same and hold the cylinder against outwarddisplacement by the spring, the thinedged formation of the flangeproviding a degree of resiliency to insure snug engagement between theflange and the outer end of the cylinder for preventing the ingress ofwater and foreign matter between the cylinder and bore walls.

EDWARD N. JACOBI.

